by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High volleyball struggles to find rhythm in home loss to Midland Lee

With two weeks to go before the start of District 4-5A play, the Abilene High volleyball team hosted an old Little Southwest Conference rival Tuesday, falling to the MIdland Lee Lady Rebels 25-22, 25-5, 25-15 at Eagle Gym.

The Lady Eagles dug out of an early hole to take a 22-20 lead in the opening game, but a 5-0 Lee run out of a timeout sent the momentum to the visitors side and it never shifted back in a tough match for the home team.

The loss dropped AHS to 15-13 on the year with three nondistrict matches to play before it opens its league schedule with a home match against Wichita Falls Memorial on Sept. 22.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: Water Valley-Rankin, Strawn-May headline wild week of action

Week 2 is in the books, and what a week it was for area six-man football. With a thrilling win by Water Valley over top-ranked Rankin and a two-point Strawn victory over May serving as co-main events, the week’s slate more than delivered on what was promised going in.

It’s time now to take a closer look at the six-man landscape, with a focus on the biggest developments and most outstanding individual performances seen last week.

We hope you enjoy this look back in our weekly  “Big Country Rewind” column and encourage you to check out our Six-Man/Class 1A Central page when you’ve finished reading for more information on your favorite team(s).

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Pinkerton takes his second award in as many weeks

We prefer to not have the same athlete win our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award in successive weeks, given that it is our aim to share the love. But every now and then, the numbers simply make that impossible. 

So here we have it: Haskell’s Haegen Pinkerton has won our accolade twice in as many weeks, and deservedly so after leading the Indians to a 62-44 win at Bangs on Friday. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Wylie blasts Monterey, Cooper falls to AHS as district goes 4-3

Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com

Wylie 49, Lubbock Monterey 3 — Jadin Karleskint passed for 252 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a runaway win over the Plainsmen.

Blaze Ruffin (4-124, 3 TDs) and Jackston Williams (4-108, 1 TD) both eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in the win, which saw the Bulldogs explode for 42 unanswered points in the first half.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Abilene High, Tascosa gut out wins as league struggles to 2-6 record

Abilene High 14, Cooper 6 — Tristan Beal hit John Rangel with a pair of touchdown passes, and that was all the offense the Eagles needed to claim their fifth straight Crosstown Showdown win thanks to an opportunistic performance by the AHS defense.

Cooper outgained Abilene High 338-226, but the Eagles came up with a big turnover on downs in their own territory in the first half and forced and recovered a pair of fumbles in the second to make a 14-0 third-quarter lead hold up.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 8-2A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Santo continues hot start to season as rest of league goes 3-3

rioSanto 61, Dublin 0 — Jackson McKinnerney ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns and added a 22-yard scoring catch, while Rylan Griffith passed for 59 yards and two scores to help the Wildcats run away from the Lions.

Santo outgained Dublin 405-60, holding the Lions to minus-2 rushing yards on 18 attempts. The Wildcats picked off five passes and forced seven total turnovers in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 7-2A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: San Saba, Coleman, Mason pick up wins as league goes 3-3

San Saba 34, Eastland 19 — Enrique Mendoza ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns to lead a 438-yard rushing effort for the Armadillos in a two-touchdown win.

Jason Everett added 167 yards and two TDs of his own to help San Saba, which finished with 460 total yards in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-2A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Ballinger, Forsan and C-City all victorious in 4-3 week for league

Ballinger 27, Odessa Compass 20 — Brody Wilde had an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown and a 70-yard pick-six to go with 40 yards rushing and 26 yards receiving to power the Bearcats to a hard-fought win over the Cougars.e

Wyatt Clemens added 165 yards and two touchdowns passing, and Hunter Kresta received for 91 yards and a TD as Ballinger made a 21-14 halftime lead hold up in the final two quarters for its second straight win to start the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 5-3A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Area teams go 0-5 as district drops all but two games

Cisco 38, Comanche 6 — Colby McIlroy passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground to fuel the Loboes to a lopsided win over the Indians.

Landry Vosburg added 102 yards and one TD rushing, and Cannon Harris had 84 yards and two TDs receiving to help Cisco, which led 24-6 by halftime.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 3-2A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Roscoe hurts itself with mistakes in big loss to Forsan, Pathway forced into open week

Forsan 44, Roscoe 19 — Owen Bishop threw for 228 yards and two scores and Ashton Ellis rushed for 168 yards and three TDs to lead Forsan (2-0) over Roscoe. 

The Plowboys (0-2) produced 309 total yards, but were crippled by four turnovers.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Coahoma shuts out Brownfield for first win; Wink runs away from Stanton

Coahoma 37, Brownfield 0 — Austin Joslin passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Austin Molina five times for 110 yards and two of those scores, to lead the Bulldogs to a blowout win over the Cubs.

Coahoma (1-1) also ran for 165 yards, led by Aiden Rodriguez, with 47 yards and a TD on 15 attempts, while Tyler Rechichar (3-51 receiving) added a touchdown catch in the win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 3-3A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Wall blasts Class 6A La Joya, Early strong again in blowout of Breckenridge

Wall 55, La Joya 14 — The Hawks went up three classifications and handed the Coyotes a lopsided loss, amassing 482 total yards in a dominating effort.

Gunner King passed for 222 yards and five touchdowns, while Gunner Garza added 127 yards and a TD rushing on just 10 carries and Evan Boehle received for 77 yards and two scores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 4-4A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Mineral Wells tops Pilot Point in father-son matchup; Graham rolls

Mineral Wells 24, Pilot Point 19 — Aleck Gonzales ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Slade Evans ran for 98 yards and a TD to lead the Rams to a thrilling win over the Bearcats a game dubbed Worrell War 1.

Pitting Mineral Wells coach Cody Worrell against his dad, Pilot Point head man Chad Worrell, the game saw the Rams increase a 7-0 halftime lead to 17-6 in the third quarter and 24-12 in the fourth before holding on for the victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-4A DII WEEK 2 REPORT: Andrews rallies past Big Spring; Lake View too much for Snyder

Andrews 42, Big Spring 34 — Tommy Evans ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the final 10 minutes, to  lead the Mustangs to a remarkable comeback win over the Steers.

Big Spring, which got 172 yards and two touchdowns passing from Javon Jackson and TDs from both its special teams (blocked punt return) and defense (interception return), stretched a 21-14 halftime lead to 34-14 by the 10:26 mark of the fourth quarter. But Andrews, which also got 161 yards rushing from Blas Hernandez, scored the game’s final four touchdowns, taking a 35-34 lead on Evans’ final score with 5:37 to play before icing the game with a Jorge Rodriguez TD run with just under two minutes remaining.

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by Evan Ren

DISTRICT 12-4A DI WEEK 2 REPORT: Stephenville, Jarrell, Marble Falls notch Week 2 victories

Waco University 29, China Spring 23 — Ray Brown Jr. rushed for 225 yards and three scores and Cameron Holleman threw for 146 yards and another TD to lift University to a difficult win over an improved China Spring club.

The Trojans improved to 2-0 with the win; China Spring fell to 1-1. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Wylie bounces back from season-opening loss with blowout win over Monterey

Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com

LUBBOCK — The Wylie football team bounced back from its season-opening setback against Brownwood with one of the most dominant performances in the Big Country on Friday, blasting Lubbock Monterey 49-3 to even its season record at 1-1.

The Bulldogs outgained the Plainsmen 487-174, building a 42-0 lead by halftime on their way to the blowout victory.

Quarterback Jadin Karleskint led the offensive effort, completing 15 of 17 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns, while the WHS defense limited Monterey to just 44 yards rushing on 23 attempts and a 10-of-24 tally in the passing game.

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: No. 1 Jackets survive four turnovers, rally past Brownwood 28-24

Stephenville QB Trot Jordan with parents

BROWNWOOD – When Brownwood’s Trent Buffington broke a 27-yard touchdown run that gave the Lions a 24-21 lead over Stephenville with 1:29 left in Friday night’s football game, Yellow Jackets quarterback Trot Jordan, along with receivers Adan Jergins and Caden Monk, said the Lions left too much time on the clock.

Several Brownwood fans were wondering the same thing.

Turns out they were right.

Jordan, who had thrown two interceptions and had passed for a modest 88 yards to that point, was facing a third-and-15 from the Jackets’ 25-yard line with one minute to play.

The all-state quarterback regrouped and threw a strike across the middle to Monk, his sophomore receiver. Monk eluded one defender and outran another on the way to a 75-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds left that gave the Jackets a 28-24 win.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Mason, Hamilton produce a classic in their first game of the week

HAMILTON — With two of Big Country Preps’ newcomers going head-to-head in their first BCP Game of the Week, the Mason Punchers and Hamilton Bulldogs put together a legitimate classic on Friday at Kooken Field. 

San Saba move-in Luke Tharp rushed for 139 yards and four scores to lead Mason to a 46-44 win in a game that saw four lead changes and two ties before the issue was finally settled after 10 p.m.  Tharp added two fourth-quarter TDs to provide the Punchers with the winning edge, improving sixth-ranked 2A DI Mason to 2-0. 

Hamilton (0-2), which carried a 37-30 edge into the fourth quarter, was led by Oliver Summers with 352 yards passing and four scores. Madden Weaver was his top target, hauling in nine passes for 235 yards and two TDs. 

“We told our kids that we play games like this to see where we’re at,” Mason coach Wade Griffin said. “We play games like this to challenge ourselves and we were definitely challenged tonight by an amazing football team and I’m just glad we found one more play than they did.” 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: De Leon wins the ‘middle 8’ in dominant fashion to beat Stamford

STAMFORD — On paper, Friday night’s game between Stamford and De Leon looked like it would be an exciting matchup after both squads put up magnificent offensive performances to open the season.

Stamford sophomore quarterback Miles Follis was coming off a 363-yard passing effort (No. 3 in the Big Country Preps coverage area) and had favorite target Slayden Young (9-215 receiving) ready to build off a week that saw him finish with the second-most receiving yards and third-highest catch total in the area.

On the other sideline, the Bearcats had Lane Couch, who had 14 carries for 351 yards in De Leon’s season opener.

When the two squads took to the field at Bill Anderson Stadium, though, it was all Bearcats as De Leon steamrolled Stamford for a 57-7 win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High opportunistic on both sides of ball in 14-6 win over archrival Cooper

The Abilene High football team managed just 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns Friday in the 66th annual Crosstown Showdown against archrival Cooper.

But thanks to an opportunistic defensive effort that saw the Eagles force the game’s only two turnovers and make a pair of key stops on their own end of the field, that was enough to secure a 14-6 victory in front of a healthy crowd at Shotwell Stadium.

The Cougars outgained AHS by 112 yards, including a 104-58 advantage on the ground. But the Eagles turned their only two trips inside the Cooper 35-yard line into touchdowns and turned the Coogs away without points in two of their three trips inside the AHS 40 to claim their fifth straight win in the rivalry series.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie sweeps Abilene Christian in showcase of local volleyball contenders

Two local volleyball teams in the midst of outstanding seasons met Thursday, when Class 5A No. 11 Wylie hosted Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 3A contender Abilene Christian.

In the end, the Lady Bulldogs were too much for the Lady Panthers, earning a 25-14, 25-8, 25-9 sweep, but both teams left Bulldog Gym feeling good about the effort they put into the match and their chances of achieving their broader goals this season.

Wylie, which has now won 18 of its last 19 matches, was happy to take care of business on its home floor on a night marked by individual milestones. And ACS, which opened TAPPS 3A District 1 play with a sweep of Burton Adventist Academy on Tuesday, was happy to be exposed to a team of the Lady Bulldogs’ quality as it embarks on the most important stretch of its season.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

FEATURE: Bluecats starting to settle in following tumultuous two months

SWEETWATER — When the calendar flipped from June to July this year, the Coleman Bluecats football team was preparing for its 13th season under John Elder, who had amassed 81 wins and eight playoff berths while leading the program since the 2014 season.

Not even two weeks later, on July 13, Elder announced that he was stepping away from the program in a move that sent shockwaves across the Big Country coaching community.

A week later, Coleman ISD named Elder’s offensive coordinator, Zach Edington, as his successor for at least the 2026 season.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Mason squares off with Hamilton (+plus Evan Ren’s Big Country Picks)

LAST WEEK: 55-19, .743
SEASON TOTAL: 55-19, .743

Our Big Country Preps Game of the Week is as much a welcoming as it is a top matchup.

With 2A DI state champion Hamilton (now in 3A DII) playing host to fourth-ranked 2A DI Mason, much of the state will be interested in the results this produces. 

But, with both schools now entering their first season under the Big Country Preps coverage banner, it quickly became an opportunity to roll out the red carpet for both clubs as well. 

Hamilton, which is coming off a 26-21 loss to 2A superpower Bremond, will be fired up with the home crowd behind it. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Surging Wylie volleyball squad takes care of Midland Christian at home

The Wylie volleyball team continued its outstanding start the season Tuesday, sweeping Midland Christian in a rare home match to claim its sixth consecutive win and 17th victory in its last 18 matches.

Playing at Bulldog Gym for the first time this season, the Lady Bulldogs downed the Lady Mustangs 21-9, 25-21, 27-25 to improve to 22-4 on the year. 

After dominating the opening set, WHS rallied from a 20-14 deficit in Game 2 and dug out of a 23-21 hole in the deciding third set, fighting off game point to end the match in three.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIX-MAN REWIND: First week of season yields thrilling results, standout performances

The six-man season got underway with a bang in Week 1, which featured a number of thrilling games and eye-popping individual efforts.

As we have done on Mondays the past two years, it’s time to recap the best of those in our weekly “Six-Man Rewind” column.

We hope you enjoy taking a look back at the week that was in Big Country six-man football and encourage you to check out our new “Six-Man/Class 1A Central” page for more information on your favorite six-man teams.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Haskell QB takes the first award of the school year with an insane effort

Before Haskell senior quarterback Haegen Pinkerton arrived at HHS as a freshman, the name of Pinkerton was something I associated with the famous detective agency. 

I now associate it with statistical insanity, and you should associate it with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week. 

Pinkerton, who was behind center in Haskell’s 80-62 loss to Stamford, had one of the biggest nights I can recollect in a losing effort, accounting for seven touchdowns on Friday. 

Hitting 15 of 22 throws for 193 yards, three of Pinkerton’s deliveries went for scores. But it was on the ground where he did most of his damage, rushing 29 times for 290 yards and four touchdowns to help keep the Indians competitive. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

WEEK 2 FAN POLLS … Pick this week’s 11-man winners!

Each week here at Big Country Preps, we offer fans the chance to pick the winners of all games involving our local and area football teams. The results of these weekly polls, which will close at 5 p.m. each Thursday, will be included in our weekly Pick ‘Em Panel.

Here are the games for Week 2:

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DII WEEK 1 REPORT: Wylie, Cooper drop tight games as league goes 2-5 openers

Brownwood 13, Wylie 7 — Four empty red zone trips, including three inside the BHS 10-yard line, proved too much for the Bulldogs to overcome in a tough home loss to the Lions.

A pair of unsuccessful field goals, a fumble and a turnover on downs kept Wylie from capitalizing on a 301-250 yardage advantage, as the Bulldogs only points came on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jadin Karleskint to Dylan Regala with a 1:40 remaining in the game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DI WEEK 1 REPORT: Abilene High falls at Central as part of 4-4 week for district

San Angelo Central 28, Abilene High 23 — A slow start proved too much to overcome as the Eagles’ attempt to rally out of a 21-3 third-quarter hole came up just short in a hard-fought loss to the Bobcats.

AHS, which got two touchdown passes and a scoring run from quarterback Tristan Beal, outscored Central 20-14 in the second half, but a 14-3 halftime deficit, which grew to 18 points after a blocked punt was returned for a touchdown, was too big a gap to close.

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